_(29827657216).jpg) Niculescu at the2016 US Open | |
| Country (sports) |  Romania |
|---|---|
| Residence | Bucharest, Romania |
| Born | (1987-09-25)25 September 1987 (age 38) Slatina, Romania |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Turned pro | May 2002 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed both sides) |
| Coach | Călin Stelian Ciorbagiu |
| Prize money | US$7,133,183 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 531–367 |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 28 (27 February 2012) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2011,2012,2014) |
| French Open | 2R (2014) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (2015) |
| US Open | 4R (2011) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 2R (2016) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 564–364 |
| Career titles | 12 |
| Highest ranking | No. 11 (2 April 2018) |
| Current ranking | No. 119 (27 October 2025) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (2018) |
| French Open | QF (2010) |
| Wimbledon | F (2017) |
| US Open | QF (2021) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 1R (2024) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | SF (2019) Record 33–23 |
| Last updated on: 27 October 2025. | |
Monica Niculescu (born 25 September 1987) is a Romanian professionaltennis player. She has beenranked by theWTA as high as No. 28 in singles and No. 11 in doubles. She has won three singles and 10 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, one singles and three doubles titles on theWTA Challenger Tour, as well as 19 singles and 22 doubles titles on theITF Women's Circuit.
She was ranked within the top 30 for several years in singles. Niculescu entered theGrand Slam doubles final atWimbledon 2017 tournament, together withChan Hao-ching. She reached the quarterfinals in doubles in all Grand Slam championships. InWTA 1000[a] tournaments, she got into three finals (doubles), six semifinals (five in doubles), and 12 quarterfinals (11 in doubles). In singles, her best Grand Slam performance is reaching round four, which she did at the2011 US Open and2015 Wimbledon Championships.
Niculescu was born inSlatina but moved toBucharest when she was age four. Her mother Cristiana Silvia is a pharmaceutical sales representative, and her father Mihai Niculescu is an engineer. She has an older sister,Gabriela, who has also been a professional tennis player.[1]
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Before age 18, Niculescu had won 11 singles finals in theITF Junior Circuit, losing only one set:
She also won eight out of fourteen doubles events, most of them paired with her sister, Gabriela Niculescu. She reached the finals in girls' doubles at theFrench Open in 2004, paired withMădălina Gojnea, and twice in Wimbledon in2004 and2005, paired withMarina Erakovic.
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Niculescu had her first WTA Tour debuting attempt in May 2006 at theIstanbul Cup but lost in qualifying. In February of the following year, she made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at theDubai Tennis Championships. In June 2007, she played her first doubles event at theBarcelona Open. There, she also recorded her first win in doubles at the WTA Tour. A month later, she managed to get to her first WTA event semifinal, at theGastein Ladies in the doubles event. During the year, she also attempted to make hermajor debut but lost in the qualifyings of all four. She finished the year 2007 in the top 200.
In 2008 at theAustralian Open, she played her first Grand Slam main draw as a qualifier. A month later, at theQatar Open, she made herTier I debut and also recorded her first win on the WTA Tour in a singles event. She continued making debuts at theFrench Open,Wimbledon andUS Open, at Tier I events such as theItalian Open andCanadian Open. In doubles events, she managed to get to her first WTA final at theConnecticut Open alongside compatriotSorana Cîrstea, but they failed to win the trophy. Niculescu finished the year inside the top 50 in both singles and doubles. In singles, she was ranked world No. 48, and second in Romania, at the end of 2008.
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Despite progress in previous seasons, the opening of the season was not promising for Niculescu. In May 2009, she reached her first singles quarterfinal at theInternationaux de Strasbourg. In the quarterfinal match, she lost toAravane Rezaï. In her next quarterfinal appearance four months later, at theTashkent Open, she advanced to the quarterfinal, then lost toYaroslava Shvedova. Niculescu fell outside the top 100 at the end of the year, ranked 103.
In doubles, in February alongside Cîrstea, she reached semifinals of thePremierOpen GdF Suez but then withdrew. She reached two back-to-back Premier 5/Mandatory quarterfinals at theDubai Tennis Championships and theIndian Wells Open. Niculescu then had two consecutive Grand Slam third rounds -French Open andWimbledon. She then won a WTA Tour doubles title, at theBudapest Grand Prix, winning alongsideAlisa Kleybanova. Three weeks later, she advanced to another final at theStanford Classic but failed to win. Soon after, she reached her first Premier 5/Premier Mandatory semifinal at theCincinnati Open alongsideAkgul Amanmuradova. By the end of the year, she reached the third round of theUS Open and semifinals of theInternational-levelTashkent Open and Premier-levelKremlin Cup. She finished 2009 as world No. 30.
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In late September, when she reached the semifinals at theTashkent Open. She beat fellow Romanian and top-30 player,Alexandra Dulgheru, then lost her semifinal match toElena Vesnina. During the year, she recorded only one major match win atWimbledon, defeatingGisela Dulko in the first round. At the Premier 5/Premier Mandatory-level, she also scored only one win. It came at theCincinnati Open, where she defeatedSabine Lisicki. Niculescu returned to the top 100 in August and stayed there for the rest of the season.
Niculescu reached the final of theHobart International. At theFrench Open, she reached her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal. In July, she played another final at thePrague Open but finished runner-up. The following week, she won the title at the $100KPétange tournament. Niculescu advanced to the quarterfinals of theCanadian Open, followed by a semifinal at theCincinnati Open and a third round at theUS Open.
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At theAustralian Open, Niculescu advanced to her first Grand Slam third round in singles. In the first round, she defeated top-50 player,Timea Bacsinszky, in straight sets. She then played againstTsvetana Pironkova, the 32nd seed; Niculescu lost five games. In the third round, she lost to the Grand Slam champion and top 10Francesca Schiavone. In April, she reached her first semifinal of the year at theEstoril Open. She lost her semifinal match toAnabel Medina Garrigues.
At the2011 US Open, after making three wins, she reached a Grand Slam round of 16 for the first time. Niculescu defeatedPatricia Mayr-Achleitner in straight sets in the first round; in the second, top 50 Dulgheru won three games; and in the third round, she lost one game to top 30Lucie Šafářová.[2] She failed to reach her first singles Grand Slam quarterfinal after losing toAngelique Kerber in the straight-sets.[3]
At theChina Open, she first defeated top-10 playerLi Na.[4] She then defeated top 50Chanelle Scheepers, losing three games. In both the third round and the quarterfinal, she made a turnover after losing the first set. In the semifinal, she faced No. 11Andrea Petkovic but won only two games. Niculescu then finished the year with another WTA final, at theLuxembourg Open, but finished as a runner-up. In the final, she lost to No. 3Victoria Azarenka. Right after that, she made her debut inside the top 30, finishing the year as No. 30 and No. 1 Romanian player.
She reached the semifinal of theBrisbane International in the first week of the year. Niculescu got to another semifinal in early April at theAndalucia Tennis Experience. Her best Grand Slam result of the year was the third round of theFrench Open. She reached only one WTA final, at theBaku Cup in July 2011.
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In February 2012, she reached the quarterfinal of theQatar Open in singles event. In the second-round she defeated top 10Vera Zvonareva. It was the second career top-10 win for Niculescu. Until October 2012, she was losing in the early round at all tournaments. She then jumped to the final of theLuxembourg Open for the second year in a row after making four consecutive straight-sets wins. She still did not win her first WTA singles title, losing toVenus Williams in the final match. The next two weeks, she played at the ITF Circuit as her last two singles tournaments of the year. First week, she reached the semifinal of the $100kPoitiers tournament, followed with the title at the $50k+HOpen Nantes. In the final, she defeatedYulia Putintseva.
Niculescu started the 2013 season with the semifinal of theShenzhen Open. Right after that, she came to Australia to play at theHobart International, where she advanced to the quarterfinals. In early March, she won her first WTA singles title at theBrasil Tennis Cup in Florianópolis, after defeatingOlga Puchkova in the final.[5] A month later, she got to another semifinal at theMonterrey Open. By the end of the year, she reached one WTA Tour quarterfinal at theWashington Open. In 2013, she suffered first-round losses in all Grand Slam tournaments.
Niculescu started the year with two back-to-back quarterfinals of theShenzhen Open andHobart International. At theAustralian Open, she reached the third round, after defeating No. 15 Lisicki in the three sets. It was first singles Grand Slam win for Niculescu, after making 7 consecutive Grand Slam first round losses. In July, she reached the semifinal of theBucharest Open but lost to her compatriot and No. 3Simona Halep.[6] In September, she won her second career singles title at theGuangzhou Open. Niculescu won all matches in straight sets, defeating No. 22 Alizé Cornet in the final.
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In January 2012 she achieved a winning title at theHobart International. The following week, she reached her second career Grand Slam quarterfinal in doubles at theAustralian Open. In March 2012, she reached the semifinal of the Premier MandatoryMiami Open. It was her first at least quarterfinal of the Premier 5/Premier Mandatory tournaments after winning semifinal at the 2010 Canadian Open. In September 2012, she got to the final of theGuangzhou Open but finished runner-up. A month later, she finished again runner-up, this time at theLuxembourg Open.
In the first half of the 2013, she finished as a quarterfinalist at theItalian Open. She achieved at least one quarterfinal on both surfaces (hardcourt and clay) at the Premier 5/Premier Mandatory tournaments. It was also her eighth Premier 5/Premier Mandatory at least quarterfinal. In June, she reached the final of theEastbourne International. Despite losing in the final match, she had accomplished at least one final on all three surfaces (hard, clay and grass).
Niculescu started the 2014 season with two back-to-back titles at theShenzhen Open andHobart International. At theQatar Open, she reached her ninth Premier 5/Premier Mandatory quarterfinal. In April, she advanced to another WTA final at theKatowice Open but failed to win the trophy. During the year, she also reached two Premier semifinals, at theOpen GdF Suez in late January and at theConnecticut Open in August.
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First half of the year was difficult for Niculescu as she drew world No. 1,Serena Williams, twice in a row in the second round ofIndian Wells andMiami. While she managed to test Williams in Indian Wells with a 5–7, 5–7 score,[7] she was not able to win a set against her in either match. At theFrench Open, she faced No. 8,Carla Suárez Navarro, in the opening round. She lost the match after winning four games. She won the title at the $100kMarseille tournament in early June. She then returned to the WTA Tour, where she got to the final in theNottingham Open by defeating No. 13,Agnieszka Radwańska. In the final, she lost toAna Konjuh in three sets.[8] At Wimbledon, she reached the round of 16 and lost to No. 15, Bacsinszky. She played in the semifinals of theBucharest Open, and followed this up with the quarterfinals of theWashington Open. In late September, she advanced to her last quarterfinal of the year at theGuangzhou Open.
In January, at theHobart International, she reached the final. A month later, she reached the quarterfinal of the Premier 5Dubai Championships. Soon after, she achieved another Premier 5/Premier Mandatory quarterfinal at theMiami Open. In early October, she went further. At theWuhan Open, she advanced to the final as her first Premier 5/Premier Mandatory final. Alongside fellow RomanianIrina-Camelia Begu, they ended runners-up, losing the final toMartina Hingis andSania Mirza. She finished the year with the final of the Premier-levelKremlin Cup and the title at the $100kPoitiers tournament.
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Niculescu started the year with the title at theShenzhen Open in doubles event. Despite reaching only the third round, she beat No. 31 Lisicki in the first round, followed up then with a win over former No. 1Jelena Janković. In the third round, she faced No. 3 Radwańska. She lost the match in the straight-sets.[9] At theMiami Open, she was the 32nd seed in singles, so she omitted the first round and had a lower ranked player in the next round. In the third round, she faced top 40CoCo Vandeweghe, losing five games. Despite losing to No. 23Johanna Konta in the fourth round, it was her first Premier 5/Premier Mandatory in that stage of competition since the 2012 Qatar Open. In doubles, she reached the semifinal as her 12th Premier 5/Premier Mandatory quarterfinal and fourth semifinal. In doubles, she reached another semifinal from the same category at theItalian Open.[10]
In late July, she won her sixth doubles WTA title at theWashington Open. A week later, she won in another final, this time at the Premier 5Canadian Open. For the second time in her career, she failed to win title from the mentioned category. On the first next ranking, she reached a to date the highest doubles ranking of 16th place. She then made her debut at theOlympics Games. In singles, she advanced to the second round after defeatingVerónica Cepede Royg but was then forced to withdraw due to injury. In doubles, she lost in the first round. For her American Tour, she started with the quarterfinal of theCincinnati Open. Alongside Mirza, she then won title at theConnecticut Open as her 7th career doubles title and first from the Premier category.[11] After not winning any quarterfinal in singles since the beginning of the year, she made progress at theKorea Open. In the first fourth rounds, she won all matches in the straight-sets. In the final, she lost toLara Arrubarrena after three sets.[12] A month later, she won her third career singles WTA title at theLuxembourg Open after beatingPetra Kvitová.[13] There, she also reached the final in doubles.
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At the2017 Hobart International, she made it to the final and lost toElise Mertens in straight sets.[14] In April, she won the doubles event at theLadies Open Biel-Bienne alongsideHsieh Su-wei. AtWimbledon, alongsideChan Hao-ching, she finished as a runner-up after losing toEkaterina Makarova and Vesnina.[15] In August, she advanced to the quarterfinal of theCiti Open in Washington, but then lost toJulia Görges.[16] At theCincinnati Open, she reached the semifinal in doubles event alongside Hsieh; they lost to Hingis-Latisha Chan. At theUS Open, she reached the third round, where she lost toJennifer Brady.[17] She won the WTA 125 event atLimoges, on 12 November.[18]
Her 2018 season started with playing at theHobart International; she advanced to the quarterfinals after two wins but was then forced to withdraw.[19] Despite losing in the first round of the singles event at theAustralian Open, she managed to reach semifinals in doubles, partnering with Begu. Next, she advanced to another quarterfinal at theTaiwan Open, but lost to Lisicki, in three sets. At the WTA 1000Qatar Open she beatMaria Sharapova in the first round,[20] followed up with a win overMagdaléna Rybáriková. In the following round, she lost toCaroline Wozniacki. A month later, she reached another WTA 1000 third round, this time at theMiami Open. In the third round, she was forced to retire during the third set againstSloane Stephens due to injury.[21] She played in the first round ofWimbledon,Canadian Open,US Open andWuhan Open. On the 2 April 2018, she reached a career-high doubles ranking of 11.
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Niculescu started 2019 by reaching the quarterfinals of theShenzhen Open but lost toWang Yafan.[22] The following week, she reached the semifinals of theHobart International in the doubles event. In theAustralian Open, she lost in the first round in singles but got to the third round in doubles. At theThailand Open, she and Begu won a title in the doubles category. At theMiami Open, she got to the third round after defeatingGarbiñe Muguruza,[23] but then lost to Wozniacki.[24] In doubles, she andAbigail Spears reached the quarterfinals. They lost in the quarterfinal match againstSamantha Stosur andZhang Shuai after three sets.[25]
In the grass-court season, she reached the semifinal of theNottingham Open doubles event. The following week, she won the $100kIlkley Trophy grass-court tournament, defeatingTímea Babos in the final.[26] Her next tournament wasWimbledon, where she defeated former top 10 player Petkovic.[27] In doubles, she advanced to the third round. A month later, she andMargarita Gasparyan lost in the final of theBronx Open.
At the2020 Australian Open, Niculescu qualified into the main draw, facingAlizé Cornet in the first round. After winning the first set, she won one game in the second set, and got defeated in the third. At thePrague Open, Niculescu finished runner-up alongside Olaru losing toLucie Hradecká andKristýna Plíšková.[28] At theUS Open, she lost toDanielle Collins in the first round.
At the2021 Qatar Open doubles event, she andJeļena Ostapenko finished runners-up, losing the final toNicole Melichar andDemi Schuurs.[29] Soon later, she reached the semifinal of theSt. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy alongsideLesley Pattinama Kerkhove.[30] At theFrench Open, she and Ostapenko got into the fourth round, where the Pliskova's sisters defeated them.[31] Next, she won the ITF title at the $100kNottingham Trophy, where, together withElena-Gabriela Ruse, she defeatedPriscilla Hon andStorm Sanders.[32] After that she went toWimbledon, where she lost toAryna Sabalenka.[33] In doubles, she got one round further together withAndreea Mitu.
At theTokyo Olympics, Niculescu started only in the doubles event. Playing with Olaru, she got to the second round after beating former No. 5 Chan Hao-ching, and former No. 1 Latisha Chan.[34] Niculescu got to the quarterfinals of theUS Open alongside compatriot Elena-Gabriela Ruse,[35] this being her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2018 Australian Open and the first one at the US Open. This completed her career doubles Grand Slam quarterfinals, by reaching at least the quarterfinals at each of the majors.
In October, Niculescu won the inauguralAstana Open together withAnna-Lena Friedsam. This was her tenth WTA Tour doubles title, and the first since February 2019.[36] She ended the season with the doubles title at the WTA 125Open de Limoges, alongsideVera Zvonareva.[37]
PartneringIrina-Camelia Begu, Niculescu represented Romania at theParis Olympics, losing in the first round to Taiwanese pairingHsieh Su-wei andTsao Chia-yi.[38]AlongsideElena-Gabriela Ruse, she won the doubles at theHong Kong 125 Open in October, defeatingNao Hibino andMakoto Ninomiya in the final.[39]
Niculescu won theMonterrey Open doubles title withGuo Hanyu, after beatingGiuliana Olmos andAlexandra Panova in the match tiebreaker.[40] AlongsideElena-Gabriela Ruse, she won the doubles at theHong Kong 125 Open in October, defeatingNao Hibino andMakoto Ninomiya in the final.[39] PartneringElena-Gabriela Ruse, Niculescu won the doubles title at theWTA 125 Open Angers Arena Loire, defeatingBelinda Bencic andCeline Naef in the final.[41]
Partnering withFanny Stollár, Niculescu reached the doubles final at theHobart International, losing toJiang Xinyu andWu Fang-hsien.[42]
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Niculescu is a right-handed player,[43] known for her unorthodox style of play.[44] Her trademark is an unpredictable forehand slice.[45] She enjoys hitting a flat, two-handed backhand.[43] She is able to force tricky drop shots[24] and precise volleys.[21] During her match against Johanna Konta at the2017 China Open, Niculescu showed a variety of spins.[46]
Niculescu citedMartina Hingis andAndre Agassi as her tennis idols.[47] Her opponents have not always enjoyed playing against her, since her playing style is opposite to what most players do. For instance, she hits a slice forehand, but she hits a topspin backhand. One tactic Niculescu uses to break through her opponent's defence is to force her opponent to run more by using her footwork.[48]
She is currently coached by Călin Stelian Ciorbagiu.[1]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
| Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | A | 0 / 13 | 8–13 | 38% |
| French Open | 1R | 1R | Q3 | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 1R | Q3 | A | 0 / 10 | 1–10 | 9% |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | NH | 1R | A | 0 / 13 | 8–13 | 38% |
| US Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | Q3 | A | 0 / 12 | 9–12 | 43% |
| Win–loss | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 6–4 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0 / 48 | 26–48 | 35% |
| Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | SR | W–L | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | QF | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | SF | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 13 | 19–13 | 59% |
| French Open | 2R | 3R | QF | 3R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 0 / 11 | 16–11 | 59% |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | F | 3R | 3R | NH | 2R | 1R | 0 / 14 | 18–14 | 56% |
| US Open | 2R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | A | QF | 1R | 0 / 14 | 15–14 | 52% |
| Win–loss | 3–3 | 7–4 | 8–4 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 7–3 | 7–3 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 6–4 | 1–3 | 0 / 52 | 68–52 | 57% |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2017 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Chan Hao-ching |  Ekaterina MakarovaElena Vesnina | 0–6, 0–6 |
Women's Tennis Association: Top Romanian female doubles tennis players | |
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as of 3 November 2025 | |
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